Is it clean for a dog to lick your face?

Answer 1

I found this is a recent magazine:

Since dogs can transmit disease to humans, does that mean we are wise to avoid all contact with them? No, not any more than it would be wise to avoid all association with humans because they also are capable of transmitting disease. The point is, we should be aware that dogs can be a source of infection. And even though dogs may be friendly, that does not necessarily make them safe.

So the proper thing to do is exercise reasonable caution when around a dog. It would not be wise to pet just any dog that happens along or let it lick you, even if it is friendly. The dog may be sick with a communicable disease. Or it may have been sniffing at or licking the hind end of a contaminated dog. Perhaps it has just finished rolling in dirt which contains disease-carrying organisms. And even if you do know the dog well, allowing it to lick your face, eat from your plate or eliminate wastes where people are likely to come in contact with them is not a clean practice.

Answer 2

No. It is not true that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a humans. Every time a dog is let outside they find a lot of dirty things to get into. If you have bunnies running through your yard, it is common for dogs to go and eat the droppings. With that, a wild rabbit can have parasites and other bacteria and your dog just went and ate it, then you proceed to allow your dog to lick your face, guess what is all over your face now. On top of that a dog licks it's own parts and occasionally will lick another dog's parts. All in all, it is not "clean" for a dog to lick your face.